Toquero, Beatrice Marie S.

| 10 - Einstein

APPLYING MARXIST CRITICISM ON ANTON CHEKOV’S “THE BET”

The perception of the value of money varies depending on which lens you choose to look through. For a
young lawyer who has nothing in life but his family to feed, and the job he has to fulfill inside the society, two million
dollars is already a handful of fortune. For a wealthy banker, money is just a pinch of his luxuries that he can give away,
yet earn back in an instant.

Entering the fresh age of 25, the lawyer only has his time to spend and lose. This fact explains why he was not
reluctant to accept the bet, aside from the cash prize and even with the years of deprivation. The beginning of the story
emphasized that the lawyer, in this circumstance, is the oppressed (proletariat). Despite still being in the middle class as a
public servant, the lawyer's social hierarchy still classifies under that of the banker's, making him fall under the authority
of the rich man. The banker, on the other hand, was still youthful and reckless. In the first parts of the story, he did not
dare flinch, letting away a large sum of money because of his confidence that he would just gain the amount in return
easily. The scenario points out that the man is acting from a privileged perspective, without any regards to the time or the
sudden shift of courses. This idea obviously makes him the oppressor (bourgeoisie) during the early chapters of the work.
Their very distinct backgrounds offered us a glimpse of their decision-making and thought processes. Both of them were
willing to give in to an illogical bet for a not-so-opposite, yet highly different reason.

It is not really money who changes the way we perceive things, it is the division that allows us to choose different
options, may it be beneficial or not to us for the sake of survival, or just our satisfactions. Regardless of which lens you
look through, people must not lose their senses for impractical activities, let alone a bet that could be diplomatically
debated. Though, it's true that our current conditions influence our perception, we must value our truth and know that
money is not all that. There are far greater things than wealth in life. Despite living in solitude, proving lifetime
imprisonment, the lawyer still felt like death realizing the things that matter are outside that cell and not within the
banker's pockets. The banker also felt like he had died twice knowing he's going to lose the bet and was willing to kill for
the two million dollars he was not hesitant to waste in the first place. The author also implies that the illusion of money
has distinct negative implications on both classes, making them blinded by falsehood and greed. For the lawyer, being
locked up in a cell for years made him realize that the luxuries he aspires to have are empty and invaluable. There was no
joy in having nothing but money on his mind. But, due to his social status preventing him from experiencing the
privileges and signs of wealth in life, his initial idea of happiness and success was through acquiring something he was
deprived of growing up. As for the banker, his materialism turned him into something he would not expect—a potential
murderer. Having recognized that just like time, money will vanish eventually, his pride and ego were hurt knowing he is
going to lose both the bet and what is left of his riches. For someone who has lived in the upper class his whole time, he
is nothing without money. To him, everything revolves around wealth.

Money is not the root cause of all evil; division is. It is not money that drives them to do the most bizarre things at
varying circumstances, it is their different truths, perception, and goals influenced by the lifestyle and environment they
experienced their whole life. Not all glitters are gold. Greed for money deceives both the advantageous and
disadvantageous. Despite understanding that the real value of life is outside the walls of money, we are in no position to
blame victims of poverty for chasing after the wealth they never received because of inequality and lack of opportunity
brought about by social hierarchy. As long as people remain living in two worlds, conflicts will continue to prevail.
Justice will only be served once there is a balanced distribution of wealth and reduced oppression.